AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Josie inclines her head to the side. “He said he snaked it out of the shower drain.”
“Gross,” Shauna says, making a face.
“So couldn’t some of it have been his?” I ask.
“Huh,” Josie says, pushing her lips out as if this thought had never occurred to her. “I guess you’re right. We probably hexed him too.”
I almost want to believe in hexes because I’d really like that asshole to have a string of bad luck. I want his guitar strings to snap, his hair to fall out, his—
“Can we hire you to undo the hex?” Delia asks.
My sweet sister actually believes this woman who hot-boxes pot and finds spells on Google has some sort of connection to the great beyond. Then again, she was six and a half when she realized unicorns weren’t real—and she cried bitter tears into her pillow until her little cheeks were creased from the fabric. I’d pay for a “cure” just to ease her mind, but Josie shakes her head.
“It’s our policy not to accept money to undo spells by anyone but the person who originated them.”
Poe, the used-to-be-a lawyer, nods. “Sorry, no can do. A few incidents have gotten messy. People throwing hexes at each other left and right, escalating to physical violence, that kind of thing.”
“Well, let’s go,” Shauna says, getting up. “We should tell the guys what’s up so they know to look out for this asshole. I say we send them all to pay him a visit.”
“Yeah…” Poe scratches the back of his neck. “That’s exactly the kind of thing we’d like to avoid.”
This situation certainly isn’t helping my newfound paranoia. Still, I’d prefer to confront Byron myself. I don’t want it to turn into a Sharks and Jets situation if Byron has his bandmates over. Admittedly, Danny, Burke, Leonard, and Shane could absolutely cream The Lizard’s Gizzards since their only aerobic activity is walking to the bar or their weed dealer’s house in between gigs, but it would be best for everyone to dial the situation down a notch. “I’mthe one who’s going to pay him a visit.”
Delia squeezes my hand, and when I turn to look at her, she’s even paler, which pisses me off more.
“I’ll bring someone when I go,” I tell her. Then, for reasons I don’t care to explore, I add, “I’ll bring Danny.”
“He doesn’t really have an I’ll-kick-your-ass kind of energy,” Shauna says. “Why don’t I go with you? I really can kick your ex’s ass.”
She means it. In addition to being a clay artist, she used to be a personal trainer at a gym and is a black belt in taekwondo, something I’ve asked her to demonstrate when I was tipsy.
“Danny could kick his ass too, if he wanted to,” I say.
It was the wrong thing to say, though, because fresh interest has sparked in Shauna’s eyes. “Sure,” I course-correct. “Whatever. You and I will go. Let’s do it now.”
“Danny, huh?” Josie says with a smug tone. I have the insane urge to ask her what she knows about him and Daphne. But then I’d be giving her what she wants, and marking myself as the kind of rube who believes she has a backstage pass to the other side.
“Yup,” Shauna says. “Why are you so interested? Did you curse him too?”
“No,” she replies primly, throwing a glance at Poe, who’s still behind the desk. He’s located some sort of crunchy snack and is loudly eating it. Maybe he used to be a lawyer, but Josie has clearly cured him of it and then some. “No, but something interesting is happening with him. I could see that very clearly.”
I release Delia’s hand and then use the crutches to lift to my foot, suddenly beyond annoyed with this scenario, this day, and most definitely this psychic. Balancing, I prepare to skedaddle—in as much as I am currently capable of it. “I’m not sure you could say anything vaguer or less helpful if you tried.”
Poe gives a doubtful shrug, so clearly he’s heard plenty of less helpful things said in this shop. I don’t doubt him, actually.
Josie stands too, adjusting her glasses again with her middle finger. I wonder if she’s doing it to spite me specifically, or if she always does it that way, to spite humanity. “You’re going to want to listen to me, Mira. I know you’re living with Danny.”
I shoot an accusatory look at Shauna, who shakes her head, silently insisting she didn’t pass along that information.
Oh…
“Byron told you,” I say, glancing back at Josie. “It’s hardly impressive that you know. He posted about it on Facebook.” And acted like a man who’d been wronged, even though he’d started bringing other women back to his apartment while we were still sharing it.
She pouches her lips. “I would have known anyway. But, sure, he didn’t seem pleased you were moving in with another man. Still…there’s something you need to know. I can see that Thanksgiving is going to beverysignificant for you.”
I let out a puff of air that’s half laugh. “Thanksgiving isn’t a significant day for anyone. It’s a dumb holiday, especially for people who don’t eat turkey or believe in colonialism. I resent having to close the bar for it every year.”
“Verysignificant,” Josie says, letting her voice trail off, like she thinks it’ll be spookier that way. “You and Danny have to be together for Thanksgiving, I can see that clearly.”
